The oaks of Bienville Square were still recovering from the hurricane of 1926 when this photo was taken. Towering to the west is the Cawthon Hotel, constructed in 1906 using a steel frame and reinforced concrete. Atop the hotel was a glass enclosed...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This is Hines' rendition of a World War I memorial. It is unclear whether this ever appeared in a Mardi Gras parade.

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This drawing is titled "Trip the Fantastic Toe," which was another way of saying "Trip the Light Fantastic" or "dance." Only one group of people on...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This is one of a series of drawings Hines created in what he called "Woman's Theme." This one is titled "Why Men Don't Marry." It depicts two women...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This float, designed by Hines for the Order of Myths mystic society, features the story of Arachne and Athena, and formed part of the "Classic Myths"...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. Patty and Her Pitcher was a fairy tale written by Alfred Crowquill. This drawing shows Patty and her pitcher in prison and guarded by a man with a...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This float, built for the Infant Mystics, depicts Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville setting sail from La Rochelle, France, in 1698. The theme the year...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This float was designed for the Knights of Revelry. The overall theme of the KOR parade that year was "Games and Pastimes." Depicted are two young...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. The theme of the Striker's Independent Society's parade the year this was drawn was "The Idols We Worship." The float shows Siddhartha Gautama, or...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. Hines created this drawing for the Order of Myths parade entitled simply "Love." It shows the artist's idea of Grecian Love, in which a couple stands...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. The parade theme the year Hines drew this float for the Knights of Revelry was "The Fairies." The sign in the image appears to read "Faries of the...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This float design was for the parade "Muses Modernized." It depicts Hines' idea of an updated muse comedy. The figures on the float, judging by the...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This Knights of Revelry float, which is called "The Dunce," was constructed for the parade called "The Seven Ages of Man." Hines drew several scenes,...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This is one of the last Mardi Gras float drawings that Hines created. It was designed for the Knights of Revelry and the theme for the parade was...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and builit Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. In this drawing, three men appear to be aiming a weapon of some kind at a princess high atop a mountain. The Order of Myths parade theme of which...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. The Order of Myths theme for the parade featuring this float was "Legend and Romance." This drawing tells the story of Elaine, who, legend says, died...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This float design represents the zodiac sign of Libra and was drawn for the Knights of Revelry parade "Signs of the Zodiac." Shown are a large scale...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This is one drawing in the parade theme "Time." It shows children playing baseball, on a see saw, and hanging from a high bar. The drawing is titled...

John Gus Hines (b. 1844) designed and built Mardi Gras floats for several Mobile mystic societies. This is an Infant Mystics float. The IM's parade theme that year was "A Peep into the Sky." The drawing shows two groups of people atop spherical...